Much was made last week about Michigan picking up Mitch McGary, one of the top players in the nation for 2012. The reason it was so newsworthy is because Michigan isn't used to landing five-star players in basketball. Michigan State, on the other hand, has grown accustomed to picking up commits from big-time players, and the Spartans added another one on Wednesday night.
Gary Harris, a five-star shooting guard from Indiana, picked Michigan State on Wednesday over schools like Indiana, Purdue and Kentucky. The Spartans were hoping to add him as the last piece of their outstanding 2012 recruiting class, and he made the decision official on Wednesday, according to Scout's Brian Snow.
Harris is a five-star guard on Rivals, Scout and ESPN. Rivals ranks him as the third best shooting guard in the nation and the 25th overall player. Scout is even higher on Harris, ranking him second at his position. ESPN is the most impressed with Harris, ranking him as the best shooting guard, the second best player in Indiana and the 10th best player in the nation.
With Harris on board for 2012, Michigan State now has the No. 3 recruiting class on ESPN. That should come as no surprise considering the other three players in the class -- Denzel Valentine, Matt Costello and Kenny Kaminski -- are all four-star recruits. They signed with MSU earlier in the day to make their commitments official (they all originally committed to MSU back in the summer of 2010).
Michigan State Basketball Recruiting Class Of 2012
- PF Kenny Kaminski (Medina, OH) - 6'7", 230 lbs., ****
- SG Denzel Valentine (Lansing, MI) - 6'5", 205 lbs., ****
- PF Matt Costello (Auburn, MI) - 6'9", 225 lbs., ****
- SG Gary Harris (Fishers, IN) - 6'6", 208 lbs., *****
(Height, weight and stars from Rivals.com)